Metamagic Adept Feat 5E Guide | Pros, Cons, and Builds
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything wanted to share the love of some specific classes. The sorcerer is the target of this feat! The Metamagic Adept feat allows any spellcaster to access their eldritch heart to use metamagic. Your blood or willpower is plenty enough to actively warp any magic that you throw out, whether it comes from a pact or otherwise. Is it worth having cool blood to lose an Ability Score improvement? Check out our Metamagic Adept Feat 5E guide to see!
Metamagic Adept Feat
Metamagic Adept gives the owner two Metamagic options. They can change one of these options whenever they gain an Ability Score improvement. In addition, you gain 2 sorcery points to spend only on Metamagic. These sorcery points can be regained on a long rest.
Pros
Metamagic is crazy! The ability to warp a spell to exactly what you want can be a game changer. Transmuted Spell, for instance, can make a Fireball deal whatever damage you want. So, your fireball focus doesn’t have to be countered by damage immunities! Twinned Spell lets you replicate a 1st or 2nd level spell… Like a healing spell! Heck, you can even learn Quickened Spell to use a bonus action to cast a full-action spell! That’s a ton of options, and any caster can benefit from it.
Cons
Okay… So obvious issues. You don’t get any ability scores from this at all, so it better be worth losing a +2 to Constitution or something. Is it? Well… You basically get to use metamagic 1 to 2 times per day. That’s not bad! You get a lot of versatility there, but it’s incredibly limited compared to how good a +2 to ability scores can be. You’re going to be useful in a burst of spellcasting per day, but… Make sure the spells are effective by making your casting stat a 20 first! Otherwise, you’ll really regret taking this.
Potential Builds
Any spellcaster can benefit a bit from this, but the one that benefits the most? The sorcerer. 2 more sorcery points to play around with (and replenish, since this ability doesn’t say you can’t replenish the 2 bonus points using your spell slots). Two more metamagic options to add to the list. You get more options, more versatility, more sorcery points to play with… Everything! That’s a legitimately good idea for classes like the Clockwork Soul, which spends a lot of Sorcery points on non-metamagic things.
Otherwise, Warlocks can do cool stuff with Quickened spell, thanks to how strong Eldritch Blast is as a standard action. Wizards can make great use of hitting multiple targets with Twinned Spell and Hold Person, for instance. Clerics can double Lesser Restoration, which can be nice, or Extend a Charm. If you’re a caster (with a 20 in your casting stat), you’ll love this feat.
Conclusions
Metamagic Adept allows for huge plays in the middle of tough encounters, but falls a bit flat. You’re banking hard on those 2 sorcery points to be worthwhile, which makes sense only if you have ways to replenish them or to back up your magic. If you’re wanting to be a high-spending Sorcerer, you might want to consider this. Otherwise, there might be better ways to spend your feat slot! Check in on our Feats 5E list for other options.
